Lynnfield native Jake Burt might not have made the 53-man roster, but he’s officially a Patriot now.
After just missing the cutoff when rosters were finalized on Saturday, Burt has signed on as a member of the New England Patriots practice squad for the 2020 season.
It was a rollercoaster 48 hours for Burt, who went from the disappointment of getting released to the excitement of making it onto the practice squad in such a short time.
“It was a crazy period of ups and downs and waiting, but Jake is very excited to get started in his role now that it’s solidified,” said Burt’s agent Sean Stellato, a Salem native. “There’s no better place to develop and become a great player than under Bill Belichick, tight ends coach Nick Caley and the New England Patriots.”
Burt, 24, finished his career at Boston College with 23 receptions for 307 yards and two touchdowns after a stellar high school career at St. John’s Prep.
The camp experience was an eye-opening one for Burt, who battled with four different tight ends for practice time. He showed flashes of brilliance throughout camp, making a few one-handed catches and even hauling in a touchdown pass during the team’s scrimmage game. Even more, he studied his playbook hard and made strides as he progressed through camp.
“Jake’s prep work from his time at St. John’s and Boston College as well as his high football IQ really helped him along the way,” said Stellato. “He’s a diligent student, and even though it was challenging he put in the work. He got those mental reps in addition to the physical reps and he showed his value. I think, to be honest, if we had preseason games this year he would have found his way onto the active roster.”
As a member of the practice squad, Burt will continue working with the team and improve as he awaits a potential call-up to the 53-man roster. New England has three tight ends with a combined three years of experience on the roster, including two rookies in Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene. Third-year player Ryan Izzo is the third tight end on the team. In the eyes of Stellato, Burt has just as good a chance as any to make an impact and catch the eye of the coaching staff.
“The practice squad isn’t like it was 20 years ago, nowadays these guys are a play or two away from ending up on the active roster,” said Stellato. “And you have to give the Patriots organization a lot of credit as well, because they find guys like Jake who are great athletes but may not have gotten to show off their skill as much due to the offense they ran or whatever the case may be. They give guys like Jake an opportunity to prove themselves, and then it’s up to the player to make it happen.”
Even Patriots coach Bill Belichick partially acknowledged in his Monday press conference that this year’s practice squad situation is a bit different than in normal years.
“This is a year where, as we mentioned earlier, there’s kind of a couple spots on the practice squad for a player in the right situation where you can actually expand your roster from 53 to 55,” said Belichick. “Again, I saw a lot of teams that looked to me like that’s what they were doing. The flexibility to put veteran players on the practice squad gives teams a lot more flexibility than what they had in the past. So, we anticipated that. Having said all that, I’d say, it created the opportunity for teams to keep more of their younger players in some kind of protected role. There were fewer of those players exposed, draft choices or college free agents or rookies from last year that might have been on the fringe. A lot of those players were able to be protected this year.”
But making it onto the 53-man roster will only come through hard work, something that Burt is excited to get started on as a member of his hometown team.
“The upside is there and Jake’s best football is ahead of him, so he’s really excited to get started,” said Stellato. “It’s really a great story for this area. Not many guys from around here take the path that he’s taken. From Lynnfield to St. John’s Prep to Boston College to the Patriots, that’s a heck of a journey. This is great for all of those communities, and we’re excited to continue the story.”
The Patriots open the season Sunday against the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium.
